Projecting the LSU Depth Chart: 3.0
The LSU football team is 24 hours out from fall camp coming to an end, and the depth chart has become much more clear over the past few weeks.
The Tigers kick off the season against Florida State on Sunday, Sep. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Orlando, Fla.
LSU checked in at No. 5 in the preseason AP Top 25 released this week, while the Seminoles debuted at No. 8.
The Tigers are coming off an SEC West Championship and 10-win season in head coach Brian Kelly’s first year in Baton Rouge, and a top five ranking entering the 2023 season has LSU in a new light from where things stood this time a year ago.
What does the depth chart look like as fall camp winds down? After taking in practices across the month of August, here’s The Bengal Tiger’s look at the potential two-deep at every position.
LSU QB Jayden Daniels (Gus Stark, LSU Football)
Quarterback
QB: Jayden Daniels, Garrett Nussmeier
We’ve arrived at the end of fall camp, and there are still no surprises here. Daniels has the third-most starts of any quarterback in the country, and he went wire-to-wire as LSU’s starter in 2022. He’s also carrying some of the top Heisman Trophy odds in the country. Meanwhile, Nussmeier made big strides coming off his redshirt freshman season and appears in line to get the green light if Daniels gets banged up or is struggling on Saturdays. It’s arguably the most-ready 1-2 punch at quarterback in America.
Running Back
RB: Josh Williams, Logan Diggs -or- Noah Cain
LSU running backs coach Frank Wilson has eight running backs on scholarship, so this is a position that will likely see a number of players get significant carries this season. Even after a few weeks of fall camp, there’s not a firm feel on how things might unfold. Our best guess is the reps are split among a number of backs, though we expect Williams to be the starter when the Tigers take the field against the Seminoles. He was Mr. Reliable for the Tigers a year ago before suffering a season-ending injury, then backup Noah Cain carried the majority of the snaps from there. Cain has been joined by Diggs (Notre Dame transfer) as the second-team running back this month, and both are expected to play a lot this fall. But don’t sleep on veteran John Emery, or another returning running back in Armoni Goodwin. Toss in Tre Bradford rejoining the team, and a pair of true freshmen in Kaleb Jackson and Trey Holly, and the Tigers have tons of options.
Tight End
TE: Mason Taylor, Mac Markway -or- Connor Gilbreath -or- Ka’Morreun Pimpton
Taylor is the lone returning scholarship tight end from the 2022 roster, and he’s back in his starting role again this fall. Markway has been used plenty in fall camp as an inline blocker, and the same goes for Gilbreath. Both are expected to play plenty in that role this season. Freshman Ka’Morreun Pimpton continues to turn heads in practices, and he’s going to be involved in the passing game – meaning it won’t all hinge on Taylor’s production. Toss in another freshman in Jackson McGohan, and credit goes to offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock for being able to rebuild the tight end room in just one offseason.
Wide Receiver
WR: Malik Nabers, Chris Hilton
WR: Brian Thomas, Landon Ibieta -or- Shelton Sampson Jr.
WR: Kyren Lacy, Aaron Anderson
The first-team receivers have remained largely the same all camp. Nabers is the top target on the team, and he’s been phenomenal in practices. Lacy has also had his best camp showing since arriving at LSU, and Thomas appears poised to step into a starter’s role in his third season with the team. Anderson, Hilton and Ibieta have been the second-team receivers and have rotated in plenty, though Ibieta has missed time this week. If he’s out for an extended period of time, expect a true freshman in Sampson to step into his place on the second-team unit. From there, there’s a trio of true freshmen in Jalen Brown, Kyle Parker and Khai Prean.
Offensive Line
LT: Will Campbell, Bo Bordelon
LG: Garrett Dellinger, Kimo Makaneole
C: Charles Turner, Marlon Martinez
RG: Miles Frazier, Mason Lunsford
RT: Emery Jones, Zalance Heard
LSU has plenty of experience on the first-team, and everyone has starts already under their belts. The battle at center between Turner and Martinez has favored Turner thus far, though Martinez has slid over to the right guard spot with Lunsford missing some recent practices. It’s clear they view Martinez as a utility piece that can move into multiple positions. We’ve also seen Dellinger and Frazier test out both starting guard positions. Campbell and Jones have been the first-team offensive tackles all month, but Heard – a true freshman and former five-star prospect – has been getting extra reps when he sees time at right tackle on both second-team and third-team.
LSU DL Mekhi Wingo (Photo: Gus Stark, LSU Football)
Defensive Line
DL: Maason Smith, Jordan Jefferson
DT: Mekhi Wingo, Jacobian Guillory
DE: Saivion Jones, Paris Shand -or- Quency Wiggins
EDGE: Ovie Oghoufo, Bradyn Swinson -or- Dashawn Womack
Smith, Wingo and Jones have locked in spots as starters on the defensive line, and Oghoufo – a transfer from Texas – has done the same at the JACK linebacker position. Behind Smith has been Jefferson, a West Virginia transfer, while Guillory has been both a backup to Wingo while also getting first-team reps at nose tackle. An interesting development has been the emergence of Shand, an Arizona transfer who has moved around to multiple spots. Most recently, he was spotted running second-team at defensive end behind Jones. Wiggins has been the other second-team defensive end during camp. Womack, a freshman and former five-star, has seen time at both defensive end and JACK linebacker. It’s still to be determined how much of a role he might have in Year 1, but the talent as an edge rusher is there.
Linebacker
LB: Harold Perkins, West Weeks
LB: Omar Speights, Greg Penn
Perkins took the nation by storm as a true freshman in 2022, and he’s now settled into more of a full-time role at linebacker after seeing the majority of his reps a year ago as an edge rusher. Speights, a veteran transfer from Oregon State, has worked with Perkins on the first-team, and Penn – one of LSU’s leading tacklers in 2022 – continues to rotate in for first-team reps. West Weeks and Whit Weeks were the next linebackers up from there.
Defensive Back
CB: Zy Alexander, Laterrance Welch
CB: Duce Chestnut, Ashton Stamps
Nickel: Sage Ryan, Ryan Robinson
Safety: Major Burns, Jordan Allen – or – Javien Toviano
Safety: Greg Brooks, Andre Sam
The cornerback room remains a big of a question mark. Ohio State transfer JK Johnson will miss an extended amount of time with an injury, while Denver Harris is away from the team for what Kelly called “personal reasons”. That leaves just two transfer corners in Alexander and Chestnut, and both have been the first-team choices since the start of fall camp. Welch, the team’s lone returning cornerback from the 2022 roster, has been joined on the second-team by a true freshman in Stamps. Keep a close eye on Stamps moving forward as he continues to climb the depth chart. At nickel, Ryan has been the starter, and Robinson, a preferred walk-on who passed up on scholarships elsewhere to play at LSU, has already moved into a second-team role at the position. That said, the safety spot and the rotation there will shuffle up LSU’s looks. Brooks and Burns have been the first-team safeties, but Sam – the team’s final transfer addition this offseason – has seen tons of first-team reps. When he’s on the field, Burns stays at safety and Brooks moves down to nickel. Beyond the trio of safeties, the second-team has been Allen and Toviano.
LSU WR and punt returner Aaron Anderson (Photo: Gus Stark, LSU Football)
Special Teams
K: Damian Ramos, Nathan Dibert
PR: Aaron Anderson, Gregory Clayton
KR: (TBD)
Ramos and Bramblett were the starting kicker and punter, respectively, a year ago. And once more, they are backed up by Dibert at kicker and Todd at punter. As expected, it’s been Anderson who has taken over the first-team punt returner role. He was phenomenal as a return man at Edna Karr coming out of high school, and his decision to transfer to LSU after just one year at Alabama gives the Tigers a home run threat on special teams and at wide receiver. It’s still a little early to circle which direction the staff will go with the two kick returners, though Saturday’s final scrimmage of fall camp should shed some additional light on the position.
The post Projecting the LSU Depth Chart: 3.0 appeared first on On3.
